1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to database loading systems and more particularly to an improved wireless database loading system providing wireless, automatic, secure data transfer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Aircraft systems may use database loading units (DBUs) for loading their data into their flight management systems (FMSs). The DBU sold by Rockwell Collins, Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa., as the DBU-5000, manufactured by Gables Engineering, Inc., Coral Gables, Fla., performs this data loading functionality by relying upon the physical insertion of a removable media (e.g. USB memory drive) that contains the data files to be dataloaded.
The DBU-5000 data loader function supports the transfer operations between removable media (typically USB 2.0 memory drives) and aircraft Line Replaceable Units (LRUs). The appropriate content must be loaded onto the removable media device. That removable media device must be transported onto the aircraft and physically inserted into the USB port of the DBU. The USB drive has a limited amount of storage capacity. For inspection purposes the USB device has to be available. It cannot be on the plane and with the maintenance personal at the same time. The file has to be physically transferred twice.
The removable media device, if used for other functions, could become corrupted with a computer virus and then be used as a host to launch attacks to corrupt the device the USB is connected to.
The content files containing the dataloads residing on the removable media device, cannot be updated while inserted into the DBU. It is a time consuming task to update the content on the device because the device must be physically removed from the DBU and transported to another device that contains the updated content. That updated content must then be copied onto the device before it is physically returned to the aircraft and the DBU.
The content on the removable media device cannot be monitored from another location.
For example, U.S. Pat. Publicn. No. 20090091496, entitled “GNSS RECEIVER AND EXTERNAL STORAGE DEVICE SYSTEM AND GNSS DATA PROCESSING METHOD,” discloses a GNSS system that includes a receiver connected to an external mass storage device. Applications for the system, including GNSS data processing methods, are also disclosed. The external storage device can comprise a flash (thumb) drive, which can be connected to the receiver via a USB interconnection. The combination of a GNSS receiver and a USB flash drive lends itself to many applications that were difficult or inconvenient using previous methods of direct serial output.